


Of First Kisses and Last Chances

by ReginaCorda



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, and i'm so okay with that, cause it was so goddamn perfect, had to, i had to write it, this pairing is destroying my life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-03-02 16:08:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13321758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReginaCorda/pseuds/ReginaCorda
Summary: Karolina's and Nico's first kiss. It was such a perfect moment, I had to write it. So I did, with a tiny bit of original content. By tiny, I mean almost minuscule. But whatever, it's sweet and gay, so y'all have fun.





	Of First Kisses and Last Chances

**Author's Note:**

> What's up guys!! First Nicolina fic, but certainly not my first ever. That first kiss felt like a fucking exorcism and was so perfect I had to write about it. Just the way they looked at each other, was just... I can't. I really can't.  
> Anyway. This is largely unedited, so if anyone sees mistakes, lemme know~  
> Also, hit me up on tumblr if you'd like, I need more blogs to follow.  
> CadenceoftheRain.tumblr.com 
> 
> Lots of love,  
> Regina~  
> PS  
> Fleurmione shippers, I'm so sorry if you were expecting my normal favorite heroines. Haven't forgotten about you guys, just... very distracted by a Goth Princess and her precious Rainbow Glowstick. Please watch this show. It's so good.

Over the years, Karolina Dean had found herself lost in dark brown eyes more than once. It was something that had never been unsettling; rather, she’d always found it riveting. Those eyes would crinkle and smile much like lips do, darting around in a vain effort to keep up with frantically moving hands as an exciting topic was enthusiastically discussed. Other times, they would be narrow, though Nico Minoru never expressed anger or displeasure in such fashion. When her eyes were narrow, she was thinking, considering what to say next or building an opposing argument. Her anger always came with open eyes and raised brows, a challenge given and a question asked simultaneously. “Prove me wrong.” and “Do you have anything else to add before I embarrass you?”

 

Karolina thought herself fortunate that she had never been a target to Nico’s quick wit and sharp tongue. She'd seen it countless times, saw how the person in her firing line had floundered in light of her cold and solid reasoning, unable and unwilling to articulate a response. Such was the case as tonight.

 

A certain tension hung between the group as they sat, piled into the cramped space of Gert’s hatchback. It wasn't until Alex had offered his company to look for and drag the two missing members of their motley little group away from the dance and on to their clandestine mission that Karolina realized something had shifted between him and Nico. Her normally aloof and distant attitude seemed colder and more focused towards him, while he appeared to be reaching out to her more desperately than before.

 

She would have pitied him, had it not been for her loyalty to Nico and her conviction that the girl would never be cruel or hurtful to her friends for no good reason. Something had happened, and Nico could not forgive him for it yet.

 

“Sure.” the reply was aptly spoken, with raised brows and an air of pride. Alex, sensing a trap, made no move to rise or speak. “Karolina? Wanna come with?”

 

The blonde balked for a moment, but recovered quickly, vainly trying to will the blush from her cheeks as she unbuckled her seatbelt. When she turned, Nico was already striding towards the school with a determined, unwavering confidence. She moved like Tina, though Karolina would never admit that to her, with her shoulders drawn back and her chest proudly out, her chin raised.

 

Smiling somewhat apologetically to Alex in the rearview mirror, Karolina quickly gathered her wits and followed Nico. Once inside, they scanned the dance floor full of grinding high school students and frustrated chaperones, but couldn't find Gert or Chase. Part of her hoped that Gert finally plucked up the courage to pursue him, and thought, very privately, that the two deserved to share some time in what very well could be their last hours.

 

The thought had Karolina staggering as she explored an empty hallway. It hadn't seemed so real before that moment. She knew it was, undoubtedly, after all the planning, snooping, and what she'd witnessed with her own eyes. She couldn't deny it. But to be intimately aware that she and all those people dancing without a care could be dead within a few hours had her reeling.

 

Karolina Dean had never been particularly brave. She'd never had a reason to be. The Perfect Church Girl™ had never needed throw caution to the wind and leap headfirst into the unknown. She'd never been in a position in which she was laid bare and vulnerable. She'd never needed to stand up to her parents until very recently, and even now she still had not actually stood up to her mother. Not yet.

 

But before the gala, she'd touched bravery and courage. She'd felt the two churning in her stomach, rushing in her veins, anticipation and hope burning behind her eyelids. To be honest to herself was something she had struggled with. But after watching Nico prepare herself in the vanity, after knowing with utter certainty the other girl had studied her just as intently, she couldn't deny herself any longer.

 

Nico enraptured her. With gentle, lingering touches, small smiles and crinkled eyes, it amazed her how comfortable she felt with her. Amazed by how badly she wanted to see if her hand would be a perfect fit for her cheek, to see for herself if Nico's skin was as soft as it appeared, to taste her lips and pull away having ruined the immaculate lipstick.  

 

She wondered if Nico knew. She wondered what would have happened if Gert hadn't interrupted them, what she would have said. Nico wasn't stupid, of course she had to know. Karolina had felt the pleading, desperate expression tugging her features as she stared, imploring her to understand the true meaning behind her words. She'd seen the glances Nico gave her when she thought she wasn't looking, saw how her gaze had lingered on her hands or eyes.

 

She'd touched bravery, and feared she'd ruined whatever she shared with the other girl. But Nico did not pull herself away from her. She did not isolate herself. Instead, she reached out to her, not quite so intimately as Karolina had tried, but all the same. She did not ignore her, but actively engaged with her. There was no lingering awkwardness between them. And given the chance, she'd chosen Karolina’s company over everyone else's.

 

Karolina Dean was many things. She was kind and sweet, secretly competitive and fiercely protective of those she loved. She was more bookish than she let on and kept to a strict study schedule, her interests varied and as such, she knew a little about lots of things, and lots about little things. She was fiery and compassionate, generous and tenacious and perhaps a bit more than a touch stubborn. Tonight, she decided, she would also be brave.

 

“No one down here; we must have missed them,” Nico called, her heels clicking against the tile floor and echoing through the deserted hallway as she approached. “Let’s head back?”

 

Karolina nodded, before she caught herself.

 

“No, wait.”

 

Nico seemed surprised.

 

“Everything all right?” At first, the blonde was uncertain. She reached out, her hands gripping Nico's arms gently as she pulled her forward. The other stumbled slightly, unexpecting though she did not resist.

 

Nico had to look up slightly to see Karolina’s face fully, and the blonde’s heart ached at the notion. She stared into those dark brown eyes and saw no hint of intimidation or fear.

 

Karolina opened her mouth to speak, but her voice sat dead in her throat. Words failed her, and she could only flick her eyes between Nico’s, hoping the other could see her struggle and understand how much she wanted to say to her.

 

Finally, in a moment of unprecedented clarity, Karolina felt that words were not yet needed. She cupped Nico's face in her hands, her breath coming shorter. Nico did not flinch or pull away, she only matched Karolina’s stare with her own curious, inquisitive gaze. The hallway was dimly lit; chandeliers cast a warm ambiance about them, throwing soft shadows to the floor and painted them golden. Never had Karolina seen Nico look so beautiful a she did just then, looking up at her with a gentle light in her eyes, a glow to her skin that made her yearn to reach out and brush her fingers across her cheek, yearn to know how the other girl felt pressed against her body, to explore the parts of herself she kept so well hidden and see what she could discover there.

 

 _Once,_ Karolina thought to herself. _If I don't survive the night, I'll die having tasted her just once._

 

With her heart hammering in her chest, Karolina leaned down and slowly met Nico's lips. She was soft and warm against her, and Karolina was vaguely aware of Nico's hands coming to rest on her arms. Unwilling to further overstep any boundaries, the blonde made to pull away. She'd had her taste, all she would allow herself, if Nico wouldn't take her.

 

Ocean eyes met dark chocolate, flicking between them and glancing down to parted lips, and Nico reached for her, her breath falling warm and gentle against her skin as she sighed into the touch. Noses brushed softly as lips parted further, tasting the sweetness of gloss and ghosting breaths.

 

Something tight then released in Karolina’s chest. Something that had always been there, cloying and restrictive, now held no power over her. She felt ancient, hidden parts of herself come alive as Nico returned her kisses, confident and sure and warm and soft and so _so_ gentle. She lost herself in the other girl, content to kiss her until she could hold her breath no longer, until her senses were flooded with _her_ and all she was.

 

As dearly as she might have wished, the kiss could not last forever. Nico rocked back, nearly losing her balance as she sank down from her tip-toes. She met Karolina’s eyes with a bewildered expression, a single word falling from her mouth as she looked up at the blonde.

 

“Woah,” she murmured, still feeling Karolina’s warmth against her lips and the cheek the girl still cupped.

 

“S-sorry,” she said, her voice shaking slightly as she lifted her hand, her fingers gently tucking a stray lock of dark, soft hair behind Nico's ear. “I've… I've wanted to do that for a really long time, and after tonight—I didn’t know if I'd get the chance.”

 

She should have looked afraid. At the cusp of what might be their last few hours, there was so much left unsaid. But Karolina did not look afraid. As Nico studied her, intimately aware of the countdown to certain death, Karolina gazed at her with awe in the purest form. She held no fear for what happened next, but fully gave herself to the moment they shared, devoted every heartbeat to that time with her. She looked at her as though she were the sun, dearly missed after a harsh and unforgiving winter. She stared at her, touched her and held her as though she was the most precious thing the world had to offer.

 

And Nico stared back, her voice lost in the light of reality. They were out of time. As much as she might wish for a moment more to search for words, perhaps to capture Karolina’s lips again, or to simply lose herself in the calm seas of her eyes, still so awestruck her heart ached, they had no more at their disposal.

 

Footsteps sounded behind them, and Nico broke her stare. Chase and Gert slowed as they approached, Chase buttoning his jacket and Gert attempting to finger-comb her hair into some semblance of order. If it hadn't been the end of the world, she would have found the sight gut-wrenchingly hilarious.

 

But Karolina had black lipstick smudged across her mouth, her hands still resting against Nico's chest. They both were flushed and silent as the four of them fidgeted, unsure what do or say.

 

Chase was the first to recover after a few moments.

 

“We should… we should go.” he offered, vaguely gesturing towards the door.

 

The other three quickly pulled themselves from their stupor, Karolina making a small humming noise of assent as she wiped her mouth, color high on her cheeks before she turned to follow Nico, who, by no small effort, managed to keep herself from touching her lips and couldn’t bear to look at anyone else as her face heated. Gert was hot on Chase's heels as he purposefully strode behind the others, just as reluctant as Nico to make eye contact.

 

Piling back in Gert’s car after a brisk walk in uncomfortable, awkward silence, Karolina let out a shaky breath. Acutely aware of every inch her body pressed against Nico's in the cramped backseat, she fought an overwhelming desire to join their hands. The girl at her side seemed to hear her internal struggle, and as subtly as she could, wove their fingers together. Karolina smiled, a small, sweet smile and gently squeezed. Nico returned the gesture as Gert pulled into the street and on towards the build site.

 

Her head relaxed against seat back, Karolina felt peace settle inside her. It wouldn't last, she knew, whatever waited for them at the site would be sure to shatter it, but god how she savored it and the warmth of Nico's hand in hers.

 

Karolina Dean was many things, but she was not afraid. She would follow her friends to whatever uncertainty waited for them and she would fight alongside them. She would fight for them, even if it meant meeting her God sooner than she’d hoped. With Nico’s hand in hers, her kiss still burning on her lips, she was ready for whatever waited for her.

 

  


End file.
